Clodagh Finn: The ‘Irish matchgirl’ who helped to change history

Mary Driscoll was just 14 years old when she began helping women in London fight against appalling working conditions and serious health risks posed by the use of phosphorous in factories 

‘Matchgirl’ strikers, several showing early symptoms of phossy jaw, a form of bone cancer that affects the jaw, teeth, gum and face. It can also lead to brain damage.

The name Mary Driscoll might not ring a bell but this woman, considered the “lowest of the low” in her society, was just 14 years old when she became one of the leaders of a strike among match-factory employees that helped improve working conditions for everyone.

And yes, isn’t there something linguistically satisfying about hearing of a strike by matchwomen? They really did strike a light — “using sisterhood and long hatpins!” — to borrow some choice phrases from historian Louise Raw’s fascinating book on the stoppage by workers at the Bryant & May match factory in 1888.